The Truth Revealed

Heatherpetal stealthily stalked a squirrel that strayed dangerously close to the Thunderpath. She knew she shouldn't be hunting so close here, especially after her rather disastrous encounter with Cedarstorm a few nights ago. Her wounds were still healing, but she was still determined to continue playing her part in providing for her Clan. Hopefully she wouldn't run into another aggressive ShadowClan warrior...

When she was close enough, she pounced at the squirrel, but it seemed to notice her at the last second and darted off across the Thunderpath into ShadowClan territory. Heatherpetal gave a frustrated lash of her tail and a hiss.

The stocky warrior couldn’t help coming back to the Thunderpath. Even if he still disliked Thunderclan, he had a friend there that still needed his help and he wouldn’t let her alone. However... That wasn’t the only reason. The hard path had so many memories for him: his first training lesson with the father he once admired, his first encounter with a cat that enjoyed fighting as much as he and... when he found out that Buttercup’s daughter was being trained to become a Thunderclan warrior. Remembering his old friend, the tom wondered what happened to her since their last meeting. Was she able to bring back Heather or not?

When a squirrel came running toward him, the tom threw away those thoughts and trapped the small animal when he had the chance, breaking its spine with the weight of his paw. After killing the prey, Firestone looked at the Thunderpath, curious. It was weird that a squirrel would run into his territory without a reason. The feline approached the border and there he saw a familiar sand coloured fur. ”Oh! It’s you!” He exclaimed surprised. ”You remember me, right Heather? I’m Firestone.” He mewed with a friendly smile.

Heatherpetal seemed to deflate when her targeted prey had been claimed as ShadowClan fresh-kill. She blinked curiously at him as he introduced himself. He did look awfully familiar... Oh, that's right! "You're the ShadowClan cat who approached me during my first Gathering, aren't you? And, um, my name is Heatherpetal, not just Heather." She hated being called just Heather. It reminded her too much of her mother and late family.

The tom’s smile widened when she recognized him. ”Yeah! That’s me!” He sat down in his side, willing to talk for a moment with the young she-cat. ”Oh, sorry! My bad! I’m used to call you like that since she always used that name when she referred to you. Congrats for your warrior name! It suits you.” He complimented, his tail flicking to one side to another happily. However, he wondered why was she still in Thunderclan. Buttercup she was going to take her back soon but that was moons ago. Did she join Thunderclan to be with her daughter? The tom doubted it. The rogue hated that clan after they took away Heather from her.

Heatherpetal's hackles rose instinctively at Firestone's words. Did this tom know her mother? Was that why he was so interested in her this entire time? Was she trying to use this cat to gather information about her so that she could find a way to take her back? She forced her fur to lie flat again. "Th-Thank you. I worked long and hard for my warrior name, and for my place in the Clan."

”I’m sure you did.” He mewed as he remembered how hard he worked too to earn his place in Shadowclan. But that wasn’t important now.

”You know? I’ve been trying to talk to you for a few moons. Now that you’re here, may I ask you something? Have you met Buttercup recently? I don’t if you know but she is my friend and I’m worried. She hasn’t come back to our usual meeting place since the last time we talked... She said she wanted to talk to you.”

Oh, no. Her assumptions were correct. And now Firestone was asking about her. What could she say? She couldn't just reveal that she killed her own mother, could she? Of course, it was a complete accident, but what if he didn't see it as that? She took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. Her reply would have to be short, sweet, and to the point. Hopefully he wouldn't try to interrogate her for more information. With a sigh, she looked him in the eye and responded, "Buttercup is dead."

The tom looked at the she-cat, concerned when he noticed how nervous she was. When he was about to say something, Heatherpetal answered and for a second... the time seemed to stop. Those three words repeated inside his mind as he tried to process them.

Buttercup is dead...

Without asking for it, he felt how his green started to be covered by tears and how all his muscles tensed. He couldn’t believe it... he didn’t want to believe it. After all she did for her daughter... how could she be dead without accomplishing her only goal? A growl of frustration escaped from his mouth as he shook his head fiercely. ”No! That can’t be the truth! She can’t be dead! Buttercup was going to be with her daughter at the end... with you! She can’t...” He cried desperate, trying to catch any glimpse of doubt in Heatherpetal’s eyes. Firestone couldn’t bear the loss of one of his only friends... he wouldn’t be able to bear the idea of losing someone he loved anymore... not after the dead of his father.

Something within her suddenly snapped. How could this ShadowClan cat sympathize with such a horrible cat after everything she's done?! She bared her teeth and narrowed her eyes into gold slits of fury. "She deserved it! It was all a mistake, I didn't mean to, but she deserved to die! After everything she did to me and my family!"

She realized too late that she had just blurted out what she was trying to keep hidden from the beginning.

Firestone looked at her with wide, tearful green eyes. He stood up, his claws sinking into the snow. What did she just said? How could Buttercup deserve to die? And what did she mean with ”I didn’t mean to”? Did Heatherpetal... kill her own mother? The ShadowClanner stepped forward with a expression full of pain and anger. ”You killed her... you... How could you do that?! She did everything to see again and bring you back! You were her only family, you murderer! How could you murder a she-cat that worked every day to be with you one more time!” The tom wanted to run to her and hit her but... the memory of his promise didn’t let him. He lowered his head, hiding his tears from the sand-furred she-cat.

"How?... HOW?!" Now Heatherpetal was angry. She leaped to the very edge of the Thunderpath with back arched. "Before asking me those questions, ask yourself these: how could a cat abandon her mate and kits for a kittypet? How could a cat murder her mate and four of her five kits to get them out of her way so she could be with said kittypet? How could a cat turn on her remaining kit and unsheathe her claws as the defenseless kit stares into the cold blue eyes of her own mother who no longer had a place in her heart to love her, and then kill the kittypet she fell in love with trying to get to her kit fleeing for her life? Buttercup attacked first! Buttercup attacked my Clanmates because I refused to leave with her, the cat who killed my father and littermates! Because of her I had nothing until ThunderClan found me! And she expected me to give it up?! She was going to kill me!" Now tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks and she fell to the ground, weak with despair and heartbreak. How could her own mother do such a thing?... "Sh-She was going to kill me if I went with her... B-Because she thinks I'm the one who made her lose everything... If I had just stayed put and let her kill me, she'd have a new mate and better kits..."

Something broke inside his already rotten heart. A familiar feeling ran through his body as he heard every word of the she-cat: the feeling of being betrayed by a cat he trusted. Firestone felt like he was going to fall and never get up again. The Buttercup that Heatherpetal’s described was nothing like the one he knew. Of course, he knew that she could be manipulative when she wanted but... she was also a good friend for him. And something felt off in Heatherpetal’s versión of the story. ”Even... if everything you say is true... she was different when we met! And I know it because she confessed her feelings for him and when I rejected her... she didn’t do anything to hurt me... The Buttercup I met only wanted to be with her kit again. She might wanted to take revenge on Thunderclan but not on her kit... not after all she did to be with you...” The tom said with a voice full of pain as he looked back at Heatherpetal, not minding anymore about the tears running through his fur.

With his fur bristling, he trotted to the other side of the Thunderpath and looked down at the ThunderClanner. ”She did some mistakes and I admit it, killing your own family is horrible! But she changed when she went to see you! Did you even listen to what she wanted to say you before you murdered her?! Stop crying and answer me!” The tom cried, his eyes full of pain. His friend... she couldn’t be like Honeydrop and Flamestrike. He wasn’t going to believe that he was betrayed again...

"It-It was an accident... Great StarClan, I didn't mean to kill her, it was an accident!..." the ThunderClan she-cat sobbed. "I was going to let her go! I just wanted to bite her muzzle! But she wouldn't stop struggling!... I'm so sorry..." She continued crying for a while longer before struggling back up to her paws and looking up at Firestone with tear-filled eyes. "Sh-She... She loved you?... Oh, I'm so sorry... But... y-you have to understand, you just have to!... I didn't mean to kill her, but she still deserved to die! She was going to kill me if I went with her! I've known that cat far longer than you have! I'm so sorry, I'm sorry..." She was struggling not to fall back to the ground in grief. She just wished Buttercup had never lifted her head and exposed her throat. Why did she of all cats have to kill her? It wasn't fair...

The hissed but... the sadness was more powerful than his anger. And... he couldn’t harm Heatherpetal. It was the only remain of Buttercup’s legacy. He closed his eyes, turning his head away as he clenched his teeth. ”I can’t... I can’t understand how you did it but... I can’t hate you either. I won’t forgive you for taking away my friend. Even if her past wasn’t like the one I knew... she changed with me. She became my friend. And you took that away from me. And let me tell you that you haven’t known her more than me. You barely spent a few moons with her as a kit. I had been visiting her for a longer time.” The tom walked away, making his way back to his own territory. His paws felt heavier but he had to... There was nothing left there for him.

Firestone only turned his head back one more time and glanced at the young she-cat seriously. ”You know? If she really wanted you dead, she wouldn’t make me promise to not hurt you. If it wasn’t for that promise... I would probably claw you being driven by my anger but... I prefer to respect her last wish for you rather than taking a pointless vengeance.”

"How do you know she didn't make you promise not to harm me just so that she could herself?..." Heatherpetal's voice was no more than a whisper now. She lowered her head sorrowfully, and with a final soft, barely audible, "I'm sorry..." she turned and padded back into the forest of her own territory.